DTN News: Somalia - In Chaos Or Aleardy A Failed State

DTN News: Somalia - In Chaos Or Aleardy A Failed State *At least 31 civilians have been killed and 93 others injured in two days of clashes in Mogadishu between Somali government forces and local fighters. Medics said on Friday that most of the casualties occurred when heavy artillery hit residential houses. Source: DTN News By Roger Smith (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 3, 2010: DTN News reports, Somalia rated the worst of the worst among failed states, Somalia tops the annual Failed States Index for the third consecutive year. Out of 177 countries indexed by Foreign Policy Magazine and The Fund for Peace published on Monday, Somalia was given the highest score on 12 indicators including delegitimization of the state, security apparatus, and factionalized elites.The past half-century has seen a continuous saga of disaster played out in Somalia. The eastern horn of Africa officially became the independent Democratic Republic of Somalia, by shaking off Italian and British colonial rule, in 1960.In 1963, Somalia signed a military aid agreement with the Soviet Union and six years later Somalia’s longest standing president and military dictator Muhammad Siad Barre came to power in a military coup after the assassination of then President Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke. Siad Barre proclaimed Somalia a socialist state a year after gaining control. He then began nationalizing the country. He ruled based on his own version of “scientific socialism” that promoted self-reliance, modeled somewhat after China, the Soviet Union, and elements of the Quran. In 1977, Somalia invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia and was defeated a year later after Soviet forces sided with Ethiopia. At this time, Somalia began drawing on support from the United States and in 1980, signed an agreement allowing American military access to several Somalia ports. At least 31 civilians have been killed and 93 others injured in two days of clashes in Mogadishu between Somali government forces and local fighters. Medics said on Friday that most of the casualties occurred when heavy artillery hit residential houses. The fighting broke out on Thursday as the country celebrated its 50th independence anniversary. Twenty-six civilians were killed on Thursday while five were killed on Friday, Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, informed the media according to DTN News. "The fighting was the worst in recent months with heavy civilian casualties," Muse said. The fighting was still raging late on Friday, reports said. On Thursday night, Somali President Sharif Ahmed himself joined government soldiers, backed by African Union peacekeepers, in an attack on local fighters. Government security official Colonel Mohamed Sugule said: "We have pushed the insurgents back to their positions and our forces are now controlling most parts of Abdulaziz and Shibis districts. We killed many of their fighters." An African Union official who spoke to media on condition of anonymity confirmed that one of their armored vehicles was damaged. The fighting has displaced more than 200,000 Somalis this year alone. Some 6,660 refugees are estimated to have made the sea crossing to Yemen in the first half of this year, half as many as over the same period last year, while 29,848 had reached neighboring Kenya compared with 44,385 in the first six months of 2009, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. *This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com